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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open higher, ahead of a slew of construction purchasing managers' index readings from the eurozone, the UK and Germany.
Retail sales growth in the UK slowed in January, data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed Tuesday. Total retail sales in the UK between December 31 and January 27 grew by 1.2% year-on-year, decelerating from growth of 4.2% in January a year ago.
In early corporate new, oil major BP has announced a new buyback, despite a drop in quarterly and annual profit
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called up 0.7% at 7,665.00
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Hang Seng: up 4.0% at 16,128.15
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.5% at 36,160.66
S&P/ASX 200: closed down 0.6% at 7,581.60
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DJIA: closed down 274.30 points, 0.7%, at 38,380.12
S&P 500: closed down 15.80 points, 0.3%, at 4,942.81
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 31.28 points, 0.2%, to 15,597.68
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EUR: up at USD1.0752 (USD1.0728)
GBP: up at USD1.2551 (USD1.2527)
USD: down at JPY148.43 (JPY148.80)
Gold: up at USD2,026.98 per ounce (USD2,019.86)
(Brent): up at USD78.06 a barrel (USD77.11)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Tuesday's key economic events still to come:
08:30 EST Canada building permits
10:00 EST Canada Ivey PMI
13:00 EST Canada Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem speaks
09:30 CET eurozone construction PMI
11:00 CET eurozone retail sales
11:00 CET eurozone consumer inflation expectations
09:30 CET France construction PMI
08:00 CET Germany factory orders
09:30 CET Germany construction PMI
09:30 CET Germany new car registrations
09:30 GMT UK construction PMI
08:55 EST US Redbook index
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Retail sales growth in the UK slowed in January, data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed Tuesday. Total retail sales in the UK between December 31 and January 27 grew by 1.2% year-on-year, slowed down from growth of 4.2% in January 2023. Food sales growth decelerated to 6.3% over the three months to January, down from 8.0% a year prior. Meanwhile, non-food sales fell by 1.8% annually over the three months to January. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: "Easing inflation and weak consumer demand led retail sales growth to slow. While the January sales helped to boost spending in the first two weeks, this did not sustain throughout the month. Larger purchases, such as furniture, household appliances, and electricals, remained weak as the higher cost of living continued into its third year. The milder temperatures meant clothing sales performed poorly, particularly winter clothing and footwear. It was better news for health and beauty products, which continued to sell extremely well."
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The Irish service sector lost all momentum at the start of 2024, amid a slowdown in new business, purchasing managers' index survey results from S&P Global showed on Tuesday. The AIB Ireland services business activity index fell to 50.5 points in January from 53.2 in December. Last month's reading was barely above the 50-point no-change mark and the weakest since March 2021. The average Irish services sector score during 2023 was a much stronger 55.5 points. "Irish firms continued to report rising levels of new business, but the pace of growth eased in January to the second weakest in 13 months," commented AIB Chief Economist David McNamara.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Barclays cuts Entain to 'equal weight' (overweight) - price target 1,070 (1,120) pence
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Berenberg starts SThree with 'buy' - price target 550 pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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BP called 2023 "a year of delivery" on the back of its full-year results. In its fourth quarter, revenue fell to USD52.59 billion from USD70.36 billion a year earlier. The oil major reported that pretax profit fell to USD1.10 billion from USD16.90 billion. Over the whole year, revenue dropped to USD213.03 billion from USD248.89 billion on-year. Pretax profit fell to USD23.75 billion from USD15.41 billion. On the back of the results, BP paid out a quarterly dividend per share 7.27 US cents, up versus 6.61 US cents. This brings the full-year dividend to 28.42 cents, up from 24.08 cents. It said it has completed a USD1.5 billion share buyback on February 2, and now intends on initiating a USD1.75 billion buyback, prior to reporting its first quarter results. It intends to buy back USD3.5 billion in shares for first half of 2024. Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss said: "Looking back, 2023 was a year of strong operational performance with real momentum in delivery right across the business. And as we look ahead, our destination remains unchanged – from IOC to IEC – focused on growing the value of BP. We are confident in our strategy, on delivering as a simpler, more focused and higher-value company, and committed to growing long-term value for our shareholders."
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GSK said the Dreamm-7 phase 3 trial shows Blenrep combination nearly tripled median progression-free survival versus standard of care combination in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The pharmaceutical company noted a 59% reduction in risk of disease progression or death observed in patients with Blenrep combination versus standard of care daratumumab combination. Separately, GSK said its regulatory application for Shingrix for the prevention of shingles in at-risk adults aged 18 and over has been accepted for review by China National Medical Products Administration. Shingrix has already been approved in China for adults aged 50 years and over. Finally, GSK's RSV vaccine, Arexvy, has been accepted under priority review in US for the prevention of RSV disease in adults aged 50-59 at increased risk. Its application is supported by positive results of a phase 3 trial showing immune response and acceptable tolerability profile in this population.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Renishaw said that in the six months ended December 31, revenue fell 5% to GBP330.5 million from GBP347.7 million a year earlier. Statutory pretax profit fell 27% to GBP56.5 million from GBP77.8 million. On the back of the results, Renishaw left its dividend unchanged at 16.8p. CEO William Lee said: "We expect an improvement in our trading performance in the second half of the financial year as market conditions improve, and as we continue to pursue a range of growth opportunities. To support our through-cycle growth strategy, we are continuing to focus on productivity and to make targeted investments in our people, our production facilities, and our new product pipeline."
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discoverIE said it is on track to deliver full year underlying earnings in-line with the board's expectations, in a trading update on the four months ended January 31. The Guildford, Surrey-based customised electronics manufacturer and designer reported that orders in the period grew by 3% organically year-on-year. This is the first growth in orders since the quarter ending September 2022, discoverIE noted. Looking ahead, it said: "With a clear strategy focused on structural and sustainable international growth, a diversified customer base, a healthy order book and record pipeline of design wins and acquisition opportunities, the group has a resilient business model that, despite varied market conditions, is well positioned to make further good progress on its key priorities."
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Character Group said it will buy back up to GBP1.0 million in shares. It said it is part of its strategy to repurchase its shares "when considered appropriate." The Surrey, England-based toy, games and gifts maker added that it has appointed its joint corporate broker, Panmure Gordon (UK) Ltd to manage the buyback. The buyback programme can subsequently be increased in scale by agreement between the company and Panmure Gordon.
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By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter
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